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Liz Strauss at Successful Blog

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June 20, 2005

How Long Should Blog Posts Be?

ME Liz Strauss published this at 11:25 pm

From: D. Keith Robinson

A common question among bloggers, new and old alike, is “how long should my posts be?”

The answer is as long as they need to be.

Now, I realize that’s not all that helpful, but it really is true. As you learn and develop as a writer you’ll refine your writing style and begin to gravitate to a post length that works well for you. For example, with me, I used to write really long posts and as I’ve learned I’ve been able to say what I need to with less words. I’ve still got a long way to go, but in general I feel my writing has gotten clearer as it’s gotten shorter.

In General, Shorter Is Better

It goes for all writing on the Web. Shorter is generally better. Shorter sentences, shorter paragraphs and shorter posts are all usually better for reading. But that doesn’t mean that a longer post now and again isn’t just fine. I know lots of successful bloggers have a word count they try and stick to, but I don’t recommend that for everyone. Let your style dictate and if you can work toward shorter posts, do that.

Edit and Break Up

One thing I do try and do is edit liberally. I notice that I often say the same thing a few times over in one post. I think this is my way of getting my mind around something and making sure I’ve explained it sufficiently. There’ll be times when I actually cut my original post in half. Omit extra words and repetitious thoughts.

I’ll also trim clever phrasing and try and re-work complicated and run-on sentence structure. My goal is to be clear and if I can be short as well then it’s a bonus. These things usually go together.

Another thing I’ll do to keep my posts at a manageable reading length is to break longer posts into more than one post.

I don’t think there is any magic formula to how long your posts should be. The best advice I can give is to be as clear and concise as you can and to cut as much away as you feel you can to get your message across.

Filed under Basics, Guest Writer, Tips, Writing | 9 Comments »


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9 Comments to “How Long Should Blog Posts Be?”

  1. November 3rd, 2005 at 8:23 am
    indeterminacy said

    Even if this was posted in June it’s still relevant in November. I’m a great lover of brevity, mainly because I am too lazy to write anything long. I always think these page/length requirements for something one is doing is completely wrong. One has to think about what one is saying, and say it, however much space it takes. If you write to fill a certain space it will be dead writing.

    As for repetition, in my writing at my blog I’ll not hesitate to expurge something I think is superfluous or states the obvious. I guess that sense of things has developed over the time I’ve been doing this, but probably also in my profession, as I deal with words every day.

    In scientific works, though, sometimes repetition is useful in bringing across difficult concepts. I remember repetition, reminders of what was just said, in some things I’ve had to read, but that made the content easier to understand.

  2. November 3rd, 2005 at 8:26 am
    indeterminacy said

    P.S. I don’t always chose short sentences to express what I want to. In that I suppose I am imitating one of my favorite authors Joseph Conrad. Maybe for some my sentences get too long. But I haven’t yet heard a complaint, not to say one wouldn’t be justified. A sentence should not try to do too much. A sentence should express one thought, but sometimes the thought doesn’t fit into four words.

  3. November 3rd, 2005 at 9:25 am
    ME "Liz" Strauss said

    Hi Indie,
    Breaking things up into shorter sentences help, but it can also change the meaning. For an inexperienced writer it’s spot on advice, but for a more advanced writer, or one at a professional level, such as you, my advice would have been differet. I would have said to be sure to vary your sentence lengths. A variety of setence lengths allows the writer to place impact where he wants it–in the shorter sentence–and to put detail and movement into the longer ones.

  4. November 3rd, 2005 at 9:41 am
    indeterminacy said

    I notice that I vary my sentence length. I also know it’s something I have to think more about, when the effect will be better/needed. What I do now is probably still unconscious to some extend.

  5. November 3rd, 2005 at 10:09 am
    ME "Liz" Strauss said

    The reason it’s unconscious and still great is because, as you yourself admit, you are a voracious reader. You have internalized the qualities of good writing. They can’t help but sneak out when you actually do it. :)
    Liz

  6. September 8th, 2006 at 10:45 pm
    Business Blog Hive » Getting Started As A Successful & Outstanding Blogger said

    [...] Hone your skills. Write conversation content that is not too long, but written consistently and frequently. Do write killer posts, don’t write crappy posts.  Don’t plagiarize, that is stealing. [...]

  7. November 15th, 2009 at 7:01 am
    Matt Call said

    Thanks a lot for your very useful article. But I had difficulty navigating around your website because I kept getting 502 bad gateway error. Just thought to let you know.

  8. November 15th, 2009 at 6:14 pm
    ME Liz Strauss said

    Thanks Matt!
    I need to get m tech on that right away!

  9. November 19th, 2009 at 4:55 pm
    Trackback - Free Internation Call >> How to make free international call said

    ,..] http://www.successful-blog.com is another great source on this subject,..]

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